Programme Director

The Northern Ireland Directorate is working to deliver the requirements of the Windsor Framework. The Windsor Framework is the agreement reached between the EU and the UK to avoid a hard border with Ireland; while ensuring the UK, including Northern Ireland, leaves the EU as a whole, enabling the entire UK to benefit from future Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

The Framework replaces the previous Northern Ireland Protocol. For DEFRA, implementation requires changes in relation to the movement of agrifood and involves extensive delivery with the equivalent Northern Ireland department – DAERA, and other government departments.

Your role will be critically important to managing risks associated with delivering to the Windsor Framework (WF) timelines, and upholding agreements made with the EU, and international legal obligations. This is a particularly exciting and high-profile area of work, made up a number of major delivery projects. 

You will play an active role in shaping and delivering the Defra group’s priorities, informing decision making, and working creatively and collaboratively with others to deliver excellent outcomes. 

DEFRA is looking for enthusiastic and confident individuals to lead on key elements that will enable the successful delivery of various projects within the Northern Ireland Programme.

This is a permanent Programme Director role to provide co-leadership in the Defra Northern Ireland Programme. You will work alongside the existing Programme Director Colin Tweddle who works 0.6 FTE. You will lead shared resources from the existing PCMO (Programme and Corporate Management Office) across an expanding programme to implement the Windsor Framework. The exact split of responsibilities with Colin will be agreed once the successful candidate is in place, but you should expect to be able to lead across the full range of Programme Director capabilities and responsibilities.  You will be responsible for increasing capacity in the team and organisation at pace and making the right decisions on which functions to prioritise and which to defer. 

The programme director is accountable to the senior responsible owner for the governance framework and for the day-to-day management of a programme to deliver the desired outcomes and outputs and realise the required benefits. They are responsible for driving the delivery of the programme and overseeing it to ensure that the objectives are clearly defined and achieved within the agreed time, cost, and quality constraints. The programme director directs the programme, and early priorities will be growing a functional joint PMO.  You will work very closely with the Director for Defra’s Northern Ireland Programme, SRO Mark Thompson. The Programme is a GMPP with complex elements from infrastructure delivery, to digital and operational functions, as well as strategy, policy, and negotiations.  We work in a multi-disciplinary project way with a range of external partners, and you will oversee the team of project managers that are the glue for the programme.

There are a range of challenging projects within the programme to deliver our commitments under the Windsor Framework, including: 

• Improving user and delivery partner experience of the retail movement and plants schemes;
• GB-wide ‘Not for EU’ labelling requirements introduced by October 2024, and phased GB-NI labelling requirements through to 2025; 
• Introduction of a new scheme for pets travelling GB-NI in 2024;
• Permanent sanitary and phytosanitary infrastructure delivered at the four major ports in NI by July 2025.

Candidates will need to demonstrate the following Essential Criteria:

Leading and Communicating: 

• Ability to communicate with purpose and direction with clarity, integrity, and enthusiasm.
• Able to inspire staff and delivery partners to engage fully with the programme’s long-term vision and delivery requirements. 
• An ability to confidently engage senior industry stakeholders on difficult issues is imperative.

Delivery at Pace: 

• Creates effective plans, systems and governance to manage change and respond promptly to critical events.

Collaborative: 

• Promotes and enables effective cross-team working, embedding programme management expertise and support across project teams. 

Makes Effective Decisions:

• Able to articulate and analyse options, risks and issues, with an appreciation of a wide range of factors, to recommend plans and mitigations. 
• Able to take quick, confident decisions at a strategic level to enable progress towards the Northern Ireland programme outcomes.

Inclusive Leadership: 

• Develops, leads and promotes diverse and inclusive teams across the directorate.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above.
This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions.
Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and
conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your
personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any
absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you
to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Job contact :

• Name : SCS Recruitment
• Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scsrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk